Sonic Adventure 2
by chaotic-addict
Summary: Retelling and tribute to SA2, given in what I hope is a more realistic twist. Swearing, canon pairings, and character analyzation. First 4 chapters are old, please give feedback, I'll pick it up again soon! NO FANCHARACTERS.
1. Prolouge

A/N: Another story started, and another I'm determined to finish. This is a retelling of SA2. I have no beta reader, as usual :P But if anyone's interested, let me know. I'm quite picky; I'll be looking for constructive criticism. I originally wasn't going to post this on , but decided to for feedback. This was started around this time last year, and junior year's kept me occupied. I'll pick it up again soon, promise.

This is my version of SA2, which keeps the same dialogue, only puts the entire thing in order and fills in some of the "what happened here" gaps, not to mention giving it sort of a realistic twist, I hope? It's also my tribute to my favorite videogame ever, and the first game that got me into the wonderful world of Sonic.

I also referenced the timeline I sorted out with the Sonic Adventure 2 movie on YouTube, made by the user SonicMovies. Go check him out, he makes some cool Sonic movies from just the cutscenes!

**Disclaimer**: I own not Sonic Adventure 2 or any of the characters. They and the plotline are owned by Sonic Team and Sega. I'm just borrowing them for some tweaking :3

_Dedicated to Rina-chan and Rainbowgal, two of my friends that always understand and put up with my Sonic rants. I love you two girls! :3_

_**Prologue**_

Dr. Ivo Robotnik was bored.

Well, bored was _one_ way to put it. Another was, he'd been thwarted again recently, and was still licking his wounds, in quite the foul temper. Not only had one of his greatest creations gone against him, but also his mythical slave of sorts. Teaching Eggman another painful lesson: Don't fuck with Gods of Destruction.

To resolve his problem and ignore the painful blow to his ego, he was cleaning out one of his numerous computer rooms.

The Pyramid Base hadn't been used in years, and Eggman wasn't sure how he'd remembered it was _there_, exactly. He had a few scattered here and there, but the Mystic Ruins base and the Pyramids were the only ones that were currently operational. The Egg Carrier needed to be rebuilt, and he had a blueprint for a fleet that would blow that damned blue hedgehog right out of his cocky, speedy shoes.

But, the fleet would take time to build. Time Eggman simply didn't have the patience to begin at the moment. And yet, he had the time to sift through hundreds of disks, chin propped on his hand like a bored teenager. Still, the middle-aged madman didn't question it; he always lost. To himself.

Steel eyes masked behind high-technological sunglasses drooped, red-rimmed and exhausted. He'd been at this for hours, and still had a_ lot_ of crap to get through. He was learning_ another_ lesson: Don't leave your evil world domination plans unorganized. If they were_ this_ ludicrous simply trash the stupid things, don't keep them for later use.

Eggman ejected the millionth disc that hour, idly tossing it to his left, listening to it grind through the machine. He pulled another one out of the stack and shoved it in.

_Disc inserted_

_Open?_

"No," Eggman sighed irritably, hating this question. "I stuck it in there just to test you. Of_ course_ you need to open the goddamn thing!"

When there was no response, Eggman snarled in irritation and hit the enter key. Of course, he wasn't taking his chances with programming another AI yet. Not until he'd perfected the flaws he'd left in Gamma.

Text appeared on the screen, and after rubbing his bleary eyes, sipping cold coffee, and pulling a face, he read, pushing his glasses up on his face, where they rested just below his goggles.

_January 17, 2XXX_

_I think I have actually gotten somewhere in my research! Tests today show prolonged life status. This is the farthest I've gotten in a cure… but I'm tired, and must check on Maria's condition._

Eggman blinked. Maria…that was the name of…his cousin? He didn't quite remember. He did remember golden hair, bright blue eyes, and a brilliant smile, but only from a picture. She'd died when he was very young, in some sort of accident. A car accident? Eggman shook his head and continued reading, skimming really.

_March 10, 2XXX_

_It's Ivo's birthday today, and the perfect opportunity to test my transporter. I hope the package gets to him on time._

_GUN has been skulking around the ARK…inquiring about the President's project and looming over our shoulders, watching our research. My cover was almost blown when they found our guest…they'd never understand the lengths needed to create immortality…_

Eggman did a double take. Immortality? This was starting to get interesting…

_June 19, 2XXX_

_Today…today my son was born. A hedgehog, black with red stripes, and a most beautiful set of red eyes... He will be Maria's companion…_

Facts loosely glued themselves to Eggman's brain. He was fascinated, but too tired to really put the pieces together. A hedgehog? His grandfather had created life? But there was no other mention of immortality. A bit disappointed, Eggman scrolled down to the last entry, a year later.

His eyes drooped, the words blurred on the screen. There was no way he could stay awake…

_Destruction…_

Here, Eggman's eyes snapped wide open. _Destruction?_ Thoroughly interested, he pressed the call button for another cup of coffee. This was going to be a long night.

END NOTES:

For those who haven't played the game…this isn't an actual part of it. But there was the question as to how Eggman found the disc in the first place, and this is my answer.

'till the next chapter

Danni


	2. Iron Gate

**Disclaimer**: Don't own the characters or the plot. I'm just inserting random tidbits and swearing. Yay, swearing. Everything else copyrighted to Sega and Sonic Team.

Eggman should have been a poet.

Really, he should have, he mused. The alarm sounded like a beautiful symphony to his ears. He shifted the controls on his newest baby, the Egg Walker. It stomped forward. He eased up on the gearshift, and the Walker stopped as he listened to the metallic voice over the loudspeaker.

"_Intruder alert! Intruder alert! Security breach at Gate Three! Intruder has been located in the north quadrant, and is moving in the direction of the underground base! All units prepare to engage: basic emergency battle formations. Standard battle formations initiated."_

The large door slammed shut in front of him. Mildly annoyed, Eggman jammed his thumb into the button atop his shift. The door promptly exploded inward in a beautiful shower of fire.

_I need to remember these for the future sometime. After the world is mine, everyone will read my words._

"_Locate and stop the intruder from reaching the security area!"_

Grinning widely, lowering his goggles over his glasses, and letting his itchy trigger finger go, Dr. Eggman laughed. The robots before him exploded in a shower of sparks and parts.

"_This is not a drill! Repeat: This is not a drill!"_

He rather enjoyed the sound his Walker made as they crunched on the broken metal. He stopped at the shaft.

"That was all too easy," he snickered. "Now, let's take a look at what my grandfather was working on: A top secret military weapon! The military shut down the research because they feared it!"

The Walker's legs bent, then launched the doctor upward at an alarming rate, dropping him down the shaft. His mustache lifted, and his nose twitched in an urge to sneeze.

He landed with a crash, his head jerking, the wind forced from his lungs. Taking a few minutes to clear his dizzied head, he re-secured his goggles over his eyes and lifted the defense armor on his precious baby. Giving its outer shell a brief pat, he pressed onward.

Sentry robots drifted forward, and if emotion could've shown on their faces, Eggman had a feeling it would be a look stupid shock at seeing a middle-aged man in a machine drop down a twenty-foot lift shaft, appearing from the sky like a being cast out of Paradise. The annoying voice shattered his thoughts.

"_Intruder alert!! Assume level one defense formation!!"_

"As if they didn't get it the first time," Eggman muttered, urging his Walker forward, destroying the robots in front of him. Entering the next room, robots crashed down from the ceiling. Startled, Eggman's hands slammed into his control panel, opening numerous hidden weapons. With a curse he fired, stashing his "surprises" away and reminding himself to take his heart pills later.

_Don't ignore the doctor's orders._ Another lesson learned. Hey, who said you couldn't teach an old dog new tricks?

Pressing forward, he reached another hallway, which was promptly blocked by a large door, from which a painted number one glared at him. Backing up a bit, Eggman peered closely at the door. Tugging on his mustache, he looked to his console. "Scan that."

"The door, Lord Eggman?"

"Yes, you damn imbecile!! Get to it!! I've got the military coming after me!"

"One moment, sir."

Eggman fidgeted in his plush seat, listening, half-paranoid, for the stomp that would signify robots. He was definitely more confident moving forward than waiting like a sitting duck, alarms blazing, the world flashing red. "Hurry up!" he snapped, resisting the urge to hit it.

"You will be able to pass by destroying the four panels on each corner." A small holographic diagram of the door popped up, the four corners flashing green.

"Good. In the meantime, bring up a map to the Security Hold, including my current position. Take into account I will be in constant motion too," he added as an afterthought. Gripping the gears and grinning, he fired, and the door exploded inward.

"_Level One security door breach!!"_ the loudspeaker woman shouted. Eggman rolled his eyes as he continued to lay waste to GUN's pitiful defense system. _ "Emergency formation! Intercept intruder!"_

"There will be an elevator platform up ahead," his console beeped. "In an emergency situation, the shaft to the door will open only if all security robots are disarmed."

"Well then, I hope 'annihilated' counts as 'disarmed'," the mad doctor quipped after an especially loud explosion.

"I'm sure it will, sir."

"I wasn't talking to you! Shut up and navigate!"

"Very good, sir," the console replied absentmindedly, having limited responses.

Eggman moved the Egg Walker onto the platform, and again fidgeted as chain-link sides sprung up and the platform jerked, then began a gradual descent. His paranoia had no time to kick in, however, when he noticed security cameras and robots simply_ begging_ to be shot. "That's very kind of you, Commander," Eggman cackled, amusing himself by seeing how many he could take out at once.

All too soon, the platform stopped and the walkway stretched out to meet it. Eggman blew through the door—a minor inconvenience, and went on his merry way.

Hallways stretched out in front of him like a maze. Not wasting any time, he looked at the holographic map and moved, destroying anything that so much twitched at him. He found the second door slamming in his face ten minutes later, but a few good blasts to the panels solved that problem.

"_Level two security door breach!! Level two security door breach!!"_

"Slowly but surely," he murmured, wondering how long it'd been since he'd arrived on this godforsaken island. A few hours, certainly, but it felt like days. He was jerked out of his thoughts as a flying circuit board sliced the side of his face. "Damn it!" he hissed, clapping a gloved hand to the cut. "Oh damn it all," he swore again, "I've got blood on my new white gloves!"

"I'm afraid that's the least of your worries, sir. Sensors detect multiple robots in the room ahead."

"Shut up and navigate, you piece of junk! One has to be concerned about the niceties in life sometimes!" Irritated, he stomped forward and was greeted by a room full of guns. "Out of my way!!"

Anger soon turned to childish glee as Eggman again moved onward, his cut ignored, bloodstained gloves gripping the controls tightly. It was here Eggman was in his ultimate element. There was no way he could run out of ammunition, and the robots simply crumpled before him like paper dolls. Laughter built up in his gut, and in time, was let known to the compound as he wove his way around the military labyrinth, destroying anything in his way.

"_Level three security door breach!! Intruder has breached sections three through eight! Get him!"_

"She's actually starting to sound worried now," Eggman cackled. "It's about damn time they stopped underestimating me," he continued as swarms of robots moved in. Relentlessly, he charged through them, raising his defense shields so as not to be hit by a ricochet or a stray circuit board, like the last time.

He dropped down to a rather fragile-looking catwalk. The Walker ran as fast as it could, looking for all the world like some prehistoric creature spawned from a junkyard. The ends of the catwalk snapped, and Eggman slammed his fist into a panel, causing the hoverjets to boost him into the air and let him finish the final few feet to a secure walkway. "Too close," he growled. "You have to wonder if they did that on purpose—and I don't want a history lesson!" he barked at the console.

"Sir?"

"How much farther," was the snapped response. The mad doctor felt rather foolish, arguing with his mechanically retarded AI.

"Approaching the fourth door, sir."

"Excellent."

A sickening crunch accompanied this door, as well as the familiar blazing alarm in his ear. Yes, now she was definitely panicking.

"_Level four security door breach!!"_

"All this to protect my grandfather's project," Eggman mused. "It's no match for me, but certainly, if a regular human tried to get past here, they'dve been gunned down long before this. What_ is_ it, I wonder?"

The controls were heated, and the levels would become dangerous soon if Eggman didn't stop the Walker for a rest. Regardless, robots flew as a missile scattered them and the Walker stomped ahead. There was a brief period of relief on another elevator, but it was cut short by the swarms of GUN beetles swarming at him from above.

"How much farther?" he asked the computer, eyeing the beetles as they grew closer. "Hurry up, damn you!"

"Just past the elevator shaft is the final door. There are then two rooms and precisely three hallways before the door of the Security Hold."

"How far down is the next level?"

"Approximately one minute and forty-three seconds."

One minute and forty-three seconds too late, Eggman knew. The robots were almost on his head, and the lasers attached to them were warming up. There was no way the Walker could tilt up.

With a sudden grin, Eggman yanked open a compartment on the side, pulled out a large hand laser, aiming for a robot in the center. "Always think ahead," he mocked, letting a beam fly. He raced onto the walkway, desperately trying to avoid the burning pieces of scrap that rained upon him.

_BOOM_

"_Level five security door breach!!"_ the woman's voice screamed—much louder than usual—filled with panic and fear. _ "Switch to emergency defense mode! Lock down final security door!!"_

"You said that was the last one," Eggman accused.

"Sensors did not pick up any more doors, Lord Eggman."

"Whatever," Eggman mumbled. The last room he dropped into found him facing at least fifty gun barrels. And with one button, they were all gone. Laughing, he took the lift to a hallway and turned right.

"The final stretch," he hissed, seeing the blinking light of his destination just beyond a hallway. He passed under a platform, wondering briefly what it was for, but paying it no real mind. As soon as the Egg Walker stepped one giant foot in the metal corridor, the entire place went into lockdown, doors literally_ zooming_ shut. "Scan, you lying piece of_ shit_, and just see that I don't disassemble you for this!!"

"No weaknesses detected, sir."

This time, Eggman didn't restrain himself. His fist connected with the panel, and the map sputtered and died. Not like he needed it anymore; the damn useless AI had done all it was required to. "I did_ not_ come this far to be stopped by a set of_ doors_!!" he roared, infuriated. Angrily, he pressed the button atop the shift, and found himself nearly crushed underneath the walker.

_Well. That certainly could've gone better._

Slowly, he managed to crawl out and inspect his baby through a haze. Nothing was damaged…the defense shields were broken, but they could be recharged and worse came to worse, he could fix the part easily. It was just overturned. Shaking his aching head, Eggman shoved the Walker upright with much huffing and puffing. Slumping against it, his brain raced through possible scenarios, eliminating them as quickly as he thought of them.

His eyes rested on the platform above. Curiously, he took the lift up, and gave a grin at what he saw. They simply left missiles lying around? The panel next to it buzzed, the screen flickering. Cracking his knuckles, the Doctor set to work.

_Orders to go off when motion detected, eh?_ he thought as the words came up. _ We'll have to change that._ Quickly and easily, he reset the missile to fire when released, then inspected it. It was more powerful than the ones he was limited to in his Walker, but he wasn't quite sure if it could blow down the doors.

"One way to find out," he murmured. He was_ so close_, he could taste the blue hedgehog's defeat beyond this corridor. He reached into his jacket and pulled out his Chaos Emerald, watching it gleam in the flashing light. He tucked it back in, readjusted his goggles, and pressed the button.

With a flare, the missile shot forward,_ right through the doors_. Ripped through them like butter. With a gleeful and maniacal laugh, Eggman scrambled down from the platform and nearly vaulted into his mech, pushing the Walker forward as fast as it would go.

Reaching into another compartment, he pulled out a small device, smacking it on the large door and activating it. It took seconds to hack and activate the correct code. The panel on the door beeped twice, then was silent. It then began a repeated, monotonous beeping that joined in with the wailing alarm and flashing red lights. The door creaked open, and cool air washed over Eggman.

His hands trembling in excitement, the Doctor shifted the Walker forward into the room ahead, giving a soft "oh-ho!" at the panel before him. "So this is the military's top-secret weapon?" he mused, looking at the deep pit below him. "It's a lot_ smaller_ than I expected." Stretching his long arm out, he punched a few keys and read the screen. "Hmm… 'enter user data'…_ahhh…_enter password. Password is_ MA-RI-A_. Maria." Procuring the silver Emerald from his jacket again, he looked at it. "Now all I have to do is place the Chaos Emerald into this console."

And so he did, listening to the soft_ click_ and the whirring of the machine. Too eager to simply wait, Eggman jumped the walker into the pit, watching as smoke poured from the opening in front of him. The air was cool, and the doctor found himself shivering, but whether it was from excitement or the temperature, he didn't know.

A loud clacking sound ground against his ears, and a pillar covered in wires rose above him slowly, more white smoke pouring out, engulfing him. When the haze cleared, there was a shadow on the ceiling, shown only by the single light coming from the pillar.

With a nauseous feeling in his stomach, Eggman realized the shadow was all too familiar.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

END NOTES:

Whew! At first I wasn't sure how to portray going through Iron Gate, but I kept going and let it type itself, and I must say I'm proud of the result. But I realized this is gonna take longer than I expected, typing out each stage o.o

Why they need a huge pillar to seal a five-foot hedgehog is beyond me…that's one question my brain couldn't come up with an answer for.

No, Eggman's cute little console navigation wasn't in the game, but I thought it added some humor and brought out more of Eggman's quirky personality. Let's face it, Eggman wouldn't just_ jump_ into GUN without knowing his way around, and I doubt they have maps on their system, even if Eggy hacked into it. You might see it again later on the ARK. Maybe.


	3. Wild Canyon and Dry Lagoon

**Disclaimer:** Plot and game dialogue, as well as characters, are owned by Sega and Sonic Team. I'm just borrowing them for my guilty pleasures and bringing out their personalities a bit more. Yaaaay. So no stealing this fic (

Dr. Eggman felt like he'd been punched in the gut. He was mere_ feet_ away from the weapon that could_ finally_ defeat Sonic…and yet the shadow reflected on the ceiling told him that said blue blur was standing on it._ Standing on it!!_

"Is that_ you_, Sonic?" he snarled. "Are you trying to spoil my plans again?!"

Then quite suddenly it occurred to him: Sonic wasn't black. Now, he didn't mean this as some sort of racial slur, oh no. Simply, Sonic was blue. This hedgehog had black fur splashed with crimson. "Wait a minute…" he said slowly. "You're not Sonic…" Peering closer, Eggman's glasses nearly flew off as he jumped in shock.

_A hedgehog, black with red stripes, and a most beautiful set of red eyes…_

"This is impossible!" the doctor breathed quietly, in shock.

The hedgehog unfolded his arms and instead rested them on his hips, his golden bracelets glowing in the single light beneath him. He took in his first deep breath in quite a long while. "My name is Shadow," he said, his voice one of utmost calm, and eerily serene. "Since you were so kind to release me, my master--" here his body jerked as if controlled by a puppeteer, arms relaxing and fists clenching, "—I will grant you one wish."

The alarm sounded anew, and Eggman could hear the roaring jets of…_something_ that was definitely bigger than a beetle. "Now what?!" he growled in irritation, snapped out of his awe.

"Behold," Shadow spoke, the tranquility dropping a little from his voice, his mind beginning to kick into gear. How long had it been, he wondered, since he was sealed and frozen in this hellish place? Didn't matter, not now. This was perfect for demonstrating his powers to the one who looked so much like…his father? No…his creator. _ Creator._ A flare of light shot out from beneath him as the jets in his shoes kicked on, lifting them into the air. A familiar power flowed through his blood, and he spotted a glimmer of silver below him.

_A Chaos Emerald._

"Behold," he repeated, "the true power I posses."

A flash of light surrounded him as his power flexed itself, then died as he shot into the air, facing the opponent.

"This is Scorpion Troop's Hotshot," the human in the cockpit of the mechanical monster said, looking at the hedgehog before him. "Enemy movement has been detected. En route to intercept…and destroy."

"Copy that," a voice echoed on the other end. Placing his radio down, the pilot eyed the creature before him. _ This_ was the danger that the military was frantic to keep secret? A_ hedgehog_? Ridiculous.

His hands gripped the controls tightly and prepared to shift forward. Really, that was the last thought he would ever remember. His last words were a cry of disbelief as a white gloved hand shot through the bulletproof glass, grabbed his neck, and_ twisted_.

Shadow landed calmly, snapping his fingers. The robot went up in flames, scorching his fur. He looked down at the burning flesh and watched it repair itself.

Eggman's steel eyes were wide behind his glasses. The entire thing had taken place in less than five seconds. And……and Shadow should've been_ killed_! But there he was, looking down into the pit at Eggman calmly. Closing his jaw, the doctor floated out of the pit and regained his voice.

"D-Destroying that guard robot was_ spectacular!_ So, Shadow,_ you_ are the military's top secret weapon?"

_Is that what they call me now? Pathetic and wishful on their part. __Humans__…_

"But what did you mean when you said you would grant me a wish?" Eggman asked suspiciously.

Shadow toyed with his response, tossing a few around in his head. "Bring more Chaos Emeralds," he said finally, then turned.

"Shadow, wait!"

The hedgehog looked back. "I'll be waiting for you…in the Central Control Room on the Space Colony ARK."

Eggman's fists were re-introduced to his console rather violently. He'd wanted immediate destruction, not this mysterious bullshit! _ "ARK?!_" he demanded.

Shadow said nothing. He simply smirked and walked away, his shoes clanking against the metal floor.

_Free again…_

Eggman sat back and sighed, taking off his glasses and massaging his temples. He'd best get back to the base and research this colony. After a brief pit-stop. He took up the controls, readjusted his glasses and goggles, and nodded.

_It's the beginning of the end._

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The day proceeding was gorgeous. The sky was painted an infinite, clear blue, and the wind was fresh and soothing.

_Too bad breezes can be few and far between here…_

A gloved hand_ crunched_ into the dirt, followed by another, identical mitt. These hauled up strong arms, followed by a stern face with matching amethyst eyes, attached to a broad chest with a white crescent splashed upon it, looking much like a necklace.

Knuckles the Echidna finished levering himself up onto his rocky platform and rested, his back against the dry wall. He closed his eyes and welcomed the small blessing of a breeze. But it was gone too soon, before it could even draft through his quills.

_Damn…it's so hot…_

He looked up, shielding his eyes from the sun with a large mitt, sighing. Briefly, he wondered how he had gotten into this mess…then remembered the coy smile and triumphant giggle of that…that_ bat girl_ as she'd swooped in and took off with his Master Emerald.

_His__ Master Emerald,_ dammit!

His mitt rested against his forehead, then clenched tightly into a fist. She'd led him on a merry, merry dance from Angel Island, swooping down to the mainland, even making it all the way into the desert. It was there he'd finally tackled her, the large green beauty caught in between the two of them as they'd leapt apart, panting.

"_Just…__let it go!__" the bat cried angrily, her large chest heaving. Her wings flexed briefly, and more of her blue eyeshadow was shown as her blue-green eyes narrowed. "You just don't know_ when_ to give up, do you?!"_

"_What are you talking about?" Knuckles snapped, clenching his fists tightly. "That Emerald's __mine__. Y'got that?" He crossed his arms over his broad chest, the symbol swelling as he puffed it indignantly. "The Master Emerald contains special powers that neutralize the Chaos Emeralds. That makes it __very__ powerful."_

_His eyes opened just in time to see a large metallic claw lifting said precious Emerald into the air. "What the--?!"_

"_Wha—theif!" the bat cried, her pristine white ears going rigid and her heeled white boot connecting with the ground._

"_Look who's calling who a thief," Knuckles muttered bitterly, unable to resist the temptation to push more of this beauty's angry buttons. She was probably mad that their chase had gotten sand on her precious white headfur and made her tan skin all sweaty, or some crap like that. His own tan muzzle twitched in annoyance before he knocked himself upside the head, remembering that, maybe his_ Master Emerald_ had just been stolen again._

"_I came here following the signal from the Emerald," a voice drawled. "If I'm not mistaken this is the Master Emerald, is it not?"_

"_It's you…Dr. Eggman!" Knuckles snarled. Eggman grinned and waved a little. Even if Shadow didn't find it useful, he could most definitely still use this beauty._

"_So_ that's_ Dr. Eggman," the bat said thoughtfully. _ Good_, she thought_. Saves me the trouble of looking for him.

"_I'll just take it with me," Eggman continued, pushing the gears forward, the Emerald held just below his craft. "Farewell, Knucklehead," he snickered._

_Ignoring the feeling that came with the sudden grinding of his teeth, Knuckles reacted instantly. He leapt into the air, with a roar of: "Not if I can help it!!" Inwardly apologizing to Tikal and Chaos, he slammed his powerful fist into his precious Emerald. There was a pause. He was blown to the ground as the crack along the Master Emerald spread, then abruptly shattered in a flash of light._

_Eggman's mech jerked, and he struggled furiously to keep it in the air. Rouge gave a cry of alarm as she saw the pieces blasted away, completely scattered to god only knew where. She leapt upon that damned echidna as he stood, trying to regain his balance. His effort was in vain as he found a furious bat closing her white gloved hands around his throat and shaking him, her eyes ablaze._

"_What was that all about?!" she shrieked. "__And look what you did with my Emerald!!__"_

_With an irritated grunt, Knuckles pried her death grip from his neck and shoved her away. "I did that to prevent the Master Emerald from being stolen, you idiot," he snarled. "And by the way, that's not_ your_ emerald."_

"_Doesn't matter," Eggman sighed, deciding to get away as fast as possible. He scratched his head as their shouts faded. "I'll look into it once I get back to the base," he murmured, his mind already refocused on Shadow's cryptic instructions._

_Rouge watched him, knowing she'd have time to follow, her wings flapping lazily. "I despise_ anyone_ who takes jewels from me," she said finally, whirling around to face Knuckles. "All the world's gems are_ mine_ to keep."_

"_Yeah, we'll see about that,_ bat girl,_" Knuckles spat, his hackles rising._

"You'll see, all right," Rouge the Bat muttered bitterly, clutching two green shards in her hand. She held her glove up to a sensitive ear, listening to the radar device in the wrist of it. Hearing a small beep, she gave a fanged grin and leapt from her perch, swooping into the shade of the oasis. "Bet you weren't as lucky as me," she sang aloud, landing next to the water. "But god, I hate that infernal sun…" she sighed, looking into the clear liquid below.

Her mind drifted to the beauty of the Master Emerald. Oh, how it shone, glimmered, and sparkled…its mysterious brilliance, even moreso than a _Chaos_ Emerald. The verdant color so deep she could get lost in it forever…

Feeling a longing tug in her chest, Rouge screwed up her eyes at the water. "I'll find these shards and repair it_ myself_," she hissed. "I simply_ must_ have that gorgeous Emerald…!"

With a smirk and a bound she was off, following the sound of the radar.

While Knuckles didn't have a radar, he_ did_ have the proud blood of his ancestors flowing through his veins. Briefly, he stopped scaling the cliff wall to sneeze violently. He briefly toyed with the idea of allergies, then shrugged and continued on.

Reaching the top of the cliff, he squinted at the horizon. Was that a group of pyramids in the distance…?

He shook his head, reminding himself to trust his instincts and not his eyes. It was dangerous to let one's five senses direct them in the desert.

Then again, he wouldn't_ be_ in this position if not for that greedy girl and her eye for jewels. Damn, women could be so infuriating! At least Amy didn't make a snatch at his Emerald…

He sighed and continued on, slugging through a dune, feeling the mere three shards he had gotten so far.

He couldn't expect to return to the grounded Angel Island anytime soon,_ that_ was for damn sure.

END NOTES

Um, yeah, we all know Shadow couldn't break the guy's neck in the game…but again. Shadow isn't gonna screw around. And the flesh-burning bit is a reminder that he's immortal.

Aiogapirgja damn it, the Treasure Hunting stages are hard to write out! Sorry guys…I'll get the hang of them soon T.T

Danni


	4. City Escape

_**Disclaimer**_: I don't own Sonic Adventure 2 Battle characters or plotline, I'm just borrowing them and showing you guys their character quirks. So, while I don't own the game dialogue or plot, it doesn't give you the right to steal this fic, and if you do I'll hunt you down.

This sucked. Really, it did.

Sonic sat, his arms folded. Well…as closest to "folded" he could get, what with the handcuffs and all. Two armored guards sat on either side of him, keeping steady, hands on their guns, poised for any sudden action.

The blue blur sighed. "Yo, helmet-head. How much longer?"

"However long it takes," was the snapped answer. "Now be quiet."

_Sheesh…_

Sonic tried to be quiet. He honestly gave it a shot, trying to ignore the fact that he'd done_ nothing wrong_ and focusing instead on the thrumming of the helicopter blades. When his foot tapped, however, he found the barrel of a gun shoved in his mouth.

"Don't," came a growl, "move."

Inwardly groaning, Sonic gave a mock salute and sat stiff as a board, his mind wandering in reverse.

"_Got any chilidogs?"_

"_For Sonic the Hedgehog? Any time."_

_Sonic closed his eyes happily, enjoying the crunch of the onions and the spice of the sauce. Perfect. A __real__ chilidog. He'd scarf these, chase it down with a drink, of course, then run around and see what was up. The city had been abuzz with some sort of news, but every time he tried to get to a TV he faced huge crowds. And although he could put up with them, he preferred to stay out of them…especially after that concert. He hoped it was Eggman; it'd been a couple months at least since his thrashing with Perfect Chaos…and he even had new shoes to run him down with. _

_Sonic glanced at his shoes, remembering the sunny, hopeful smile that had accompanied them. They __were__ nice._

_A tap came to his shoulder. "Sonic the Hedgehog?"_

"_The one and only," was said hedgehog's breezy reply as he turned and slicked a hand through his quills. "Who's askin'—whoa."_

_He was sitting eyelevel, staring down a gun. "We're going to have to ask you to come with us."_

"_Can't it wait?" he sighed, looking at the remaining chilidogs longingly._

"_No."_

"_Fine," was the woeful sigh. "But make it quick, wouldja? I don't want my lunch getting cold."_

_The next thing he knew was pain shooting up his arm as it was wrenched behind his back. "Sonic the Hedgehog, you are under arrest."_

"_For what?!" Sonic yelped as customers stared, wide-eyed. "I didn't __do__ anything except bust Eggman's chops! And last I checked the law enforcement didn't take sides with fat evil madmen!"_

"_You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used in a court of law—"_

"_Hey, hey, hey! Easy!" Sonic cried as he felt cold metal snap around his wrists tightly. He twisted to get a look at his arresting officer and found his face mashed into a logo. He jerked his head back, the letters practically burned into his retinas._

_G.U.N_

The military…?_ Sonic thought quizzically._ Honestly, what did I do to get on the military's A-list?

_Another realization hit him with a lighting bolt._

Oh crap. Oh crap oh crap oh crap. Me being arrested equals not being able to make my time with Amy tonight…oh man. She's gonna kill me. There's no way she'd believe I got arrested. I actually promised this time…

But there had been nothing Sonic could do to convince the military that damn it, he did _not_ conspire with Eggman. So he was resigned to sitting in a military copter, guns practically shoved up his ass, as he was toted to the "highly secure" Prison Island with his thoughts of impending doom once Amy thought that she had again been stood up.

_Enough of this,_ Sonic finally thought, his mind made up. _ If these bullheads won't listen to reason, then…_

"This is Sigma-Alpha-Two, heading due south over the city," the uniformed soldier in the cockpit said into his radio. "We're en route, everything's a go." He was completely oblivious to the _snap_ of one of Sonic's handcuffs as his wrist broke free and to the cry of alarm from his guards.

"This is control tower," was the response. "We have you on radar. Report status of captured hedgehog aboard, over."

"That's a ten-four," the pilot replied cheerily, unaware that it was anything _but_ a ten-four as Sonic's hand connected with the back of a man's neck.

"Sorry, guy," the blue blur said quietly. "You'll wake up with a sore neck, but that's about it." Briskly he strode to the locked door.

"Cargo secured on board," the pilot continued, "and—_what?!_" He twisted in his seat as he heard a loud crash, and his mouth fell open at the scene before him. Sonic stood before the kicked-off door, his quills blowing wildly in the wind of the whirling chopper blades, handcuffs hanging from his left wrist. Surrounding him were the bodies of all personel on the helicopter, simply knocked out.

"What's wrong?" the toneless voice from the military base asked, abruptly snapping the pilot out of his thoughts.

He grabbed the radio, shouting frantically, "The hedgehog is gone, he's taken out everyone aboard and—what in the world?!"

"Didn't copy that, over," was the worried response on the other end. The unfortunate soldier, however, was preoccupied.

Sonic had leapt from the helicopter and was immediately thrown backwards from the force of the wind. Reaching a hand out, he grabbed the tail of the helicopter, hanging on as tightly as he could, blowing in the fierce wind limply.

"Freeze!" the pilot shrieked. He twisted in his seat again, hesitant to let go of the controls, shouting to those groggily awakening instead. "What do you think you're doing?! _ Get that hedgehog!!_"

"Talk about a low-budget flight," Sonic shouted cheekily, swinging his feet upwards forcefully, twisting himself onto the helicopter tail. "No food or movies? I'm outta here! I like running better," he added as an afterthought, ripping a sheet of metal up. He took the ends and twisted them around his shoes, securing his foothold. Bending his knees, he launched himself into the air, drifting down from the helicopter in slow spirals.

An excitement bubbled up in his stomach, and soon it was too much for Sonic to hold in. He let out a whoop as the city rushed up to meet him at an alarming rate. Hearing a steady thrumming above him, he looked up. _ Well, looks like he called for some buddies. This'll be __fun__!_

His makeshift board connected with the hard cement. Sonic pitched forward, sparks flying in his face. He pinwheeled his arms frantically, slowly regaining his balance. Finally, he straightened, and with a large grin, let gravity take hold.

Drivers were startled as a blue hedgehog wove in and out of their vision, leaving behind him a horrible screeching noise and a trail of red-hot sparks as he continued down the steady incline.

Cheerfully, Sonic composed a song on the spot. "_Rollin' around at the speed of sound! Got places to go gotta follow my rainbow!"_

That line would need some work, he thought momentarily, cringing a bit. Regardless, he continued on.

"_Can't stick around have to keep movin' on. Guess what lies ahead? Only one way to find out! Must keep on movin' ahead. No time for guessin' follow my plan instead! Trusting in what you can't see. Take my lead, I'll set you free. Follow me, set me free. Trust me and we will escape from the ci-ty! I'll make it through, follow—follow me…set me free. Trust me and we will escape from the ci-ty. I'll make it through…follow me!"_

Not too bad, he supposed. For a first verse and the chorus.

The commonly known fact was that Sonic the Hedgehog loved his music. He was often seen at concerts or wearing a set of headphones. The surprising fact? Sonic wrote music himself, usually on an impulse or in the middle of some sort of activity, such as fleeing the military on a sheet of helicopter tail while weaving in and out of cars.

He wasn't sure where it came from, he supposed as he nearly flattened himself against his makeshift board to duck under a semi. They just…popped into his head. The most successful one so far, he had to admit, was _Open Your Heart._ He'd written it after Perfect Chaos and was secretly very proud of it.

Half-lost in his train of musical thought, Sonic didn't see the G.U.N. robot until he hit it, flying from his board to hit a wall. Stunned, he simply sat there for a moment, until a bullet clipped some of his headfur. Sonic stood and took off, shaking his head rapidly to clear it.

_Better be more careful,_ he thought. His upper body simply relaxed and let his legs do all the work. His legs, however, relied on his feet, so he supposed it was his sleek shoes doing the work.

_Hedgehog, sometimes you just don't make sense. But that makes life more fun!_

He turned a corner and slid under more robots, shooting through an alleyway and making a sharp left onto another main street. As he shot by a chili dog vendor, he nimbly snatched two, stuffing one in his mouth with a muffled "Fanks!!"

_At least now I have __something__ they can charge me with. Yes, officer, I stole two chilidogs from that street vendor, but that's __all__ I did. But dang, these aren't half bad. Not bad at all. Needs some more spice, though, definitely._

He popped the other one in his mouth and chewed, closing his eyes and savoring the taste regardless of too little spice. He opened his shining emerald orbs just in time to see a swarm of G.U.N. beetles headed at his face. He leapt, rapping a few tops with his feet as he passed, then flew into another alleyway, his feet barely skimming the ground.

Seeing another swarm cutting him off at the end made him screech to a halt and turn. He was fenced in on both sides. In lieu of panicking, he grinned and ran in place, slowly speeding up. When he was going fast enough to run a hole in the cement, he flew at the wall and jumped.

Running down_ and_ up a building was an art Sonic had perfected long ago. Both were equally dangerous. Running down the side of a building entailed running _with_ gravity versus letting it take its course. If the blue hedgehog allowed the latter, he would be killed in one of the most painful ways possible. Running at a speed that could break the sound barrier, rushing to the ground…he figured every bone in his body would be completely shattered. Whereas running up a building, he had to build up enough speed to get him up the side completely. If not…

Luckily for him, he had enough momentum to clear the roof, and then some. He hovered in the air momentarily before falling, slowly at first, but picking up speed. As soon as his feet hit the rooftop, he bounded again, hopping from roof to roof. The wind whistled in his ears, which was annoying, but overall he was enjoying himself.

_These military guys sure know how to keep a guy busy,_ he thought cheerily. "Hey!" he called to a helicopter. "Can I get a ride with you?" Without waiting for an answer, he catapulted off an antenna and grabbed it, dangling and looking at the view. "Nice," he whistled.

A bullet ricocheted off the metal just in front of his fingers. "Hey!" the hedgehog shouted up. "Some hospitality! I get the message!" He swung his feet down as he let go, sailing towards the ground, not worried a bit. _ Hey, a pole!_ He grabbed onto the protruding flagpole and spun around on it before letting go, sailing even higher into the air. His landing site was a taxi roof, and he was off again as more Beetles spotted him, car-jumping.

_But seriously. Why would I work with Eggman? He's got the whole "world domination" thing and some serious anger issues. He'll burst a blood vessel one of these days. Then again, knowing ol' Roboman, he'll live to be an onery old cuss and haunt me when he's gone._

Sonic grinned slightly at the thought. His feet hit the pavement and he was again off, zooming down a ramp onto the freeway. _ This is more like it. More room to run._

He relaxed as he realized he'd lost all the military robots and Beetles and took a look around him. Most paid him no mind; he ran these roads frequently enough. Westopolis was close enough to Station Square, after all. One little girl, however, looked miserable in the backseat. Sonic fell back a little and knocked on the window gently. The driver, a woman, was on the phone and paid it no mind. The girl looked out the window, and her face lit up.

_Cute_, Sonic thought, and grinned. He always liked seeing a kid smile. She pressed a hand to the glass, and he rested his own gloved one on the opposite side of the window. He then grinned, gave her the thumbs up, winked, and sped forward, weaving in and out of cars.

_This is way too much fun. Hell, if I can lay low in a bit, here, maybe this whole thing will blow over and I can meet Ames so she won't kill me._

Sonic thought briefly of how happy she'd looked when he absolutely_ swore_ on chilidogs that he'd be there. It was the same time she'd given him the shoes. "I saw them and thought they looked like you," she'd said, giving a shy, hopeful smile. Today was the first day he'd put them on, so she'd see them. He wasn't sure what to think of them at first, but they were _nice_. The arch was perfect for grinding down rails, he'd discovered earlier. They had a good bounce to them as his feet smacked against the pavement, and soon they barely skimmed the freeway.

_Good call, Ames._

A loud horn made his thought bubble explode. Thinking it was an impatient driver or scaredy-cat, Sonic twisted around, running backwards to give the driver a piece of his mind. His eyes widened as he saw that it wasn't an angry old lady but instead a_ huge_ semi with the letters G.U.N. painted on the front.

"So much for blowing over!" he squeaked, turning back around and taking off. "These guys are either insanely persistent or completely nuts! They're_ worse_ than Eggman! He at least knows when to give up!"

After a minute or so, Sonic was convinced that he'd lost it. He was promptly proven wrong, however, as the semi roared directly behind him, one of the front wheels nipping at his brand-new sneakers. "Hey!" Sonic yelled back. "Easy! I actually like these!" He leaned forward, his arms locking and following the angle of his body.

He pulled forward, but this time, Sonic wasn't going to take any chances. This guy_ really_ wanted to run him over. "What kinda morons are they letting_ in_ the military these days?" he muttered, his legs pumping faster.

Cars tried to move out of the way as the semi barreled through them. Most succeeded in veering to the left or right, but some were flattened or thrown into the air. Sonic gritted his teeth angrily, knowing the disaster this game of cat-and-mouse was causing. All he could see was the smiling little girl, and he furiously hoped she was all right. He had to get off the freeway.

He took the next ramp and made a sharp right, barreling through a neighborhood. The semi would probably try to cut him off somewhere ahead; he toyed with the idea of using the rooftop express once more. But to his shock, the truck stayed on his heels.

_Oooh bad idea...if he's this desperate, he'll probably go right through houses! Someone's really gotta tell the Pres what's goin' on with the military._

Sonic shot out of the neighborhood and stuck to the main street, where there was more room for the truck. "There's no _way_ you run on gas," he whistled. "There's gotta be_ some_ way to shake you." But for the moment, all he could do was run and try not to get hit or cause too much damage.

For the millionth time that afternoon, Sonic wondered what exactly was going on. The only thing he could think of was Eggman had stirred up some _serious_ shit. His carefree mood was dwindling and being replaced with a confident determination. He was_ going_ to find out the cause behind this and put a stop to it.

Sonic spotted an overpass up ahead. He wasn't sure if anyone was on it, and he prayed there wasn't. His legs moved even faster, and the wind shrieked in his ears so loudly he was half-afraid of going deaf. The semi, of course, followed.

_Please be sturdy, please don't let anyone be on that, please be sturdy, please don't let anyone be on that…_

He shot under it, screeched to a halt, and turned with a heavy feeling in his stomach. The semi had been stopped, and oh thank god, there was no one hurt. Sonic sighed in relief and watched smoke pour from the kamikaze semi truck.

He looked up at the afternoon sky briefly, knowing this wasn't going to be over quickly, then ran.

END NOTES

Finally! I've been getting spastic writer's blocks, and bursts of inspiration when I'm someplace I can't write them out. e.e My "e" key on my laptop is stuck, and this thing needs to be cleaned…outwardly and internally. I've got a bunch of stuff to move to my external harddrive so this will speed up x.x But anyway. That's not important right now.

Ah, Sonic. He—for the most part—cooperated. I had to listen to City Escape quite a few times, but once I finally got going, his attitude kicked in and it was smooth sailing. He actually swears quite a bit, but only because he's being a cool boy or he's upset or angry.

The explanation for the mysterious shoes which show up suddenly then disappear after the game's end, never to be seen in another game? A gift from Amy that gets shredded with all the running he does in this adventure. I did flip out a couple weeks ago when I saw that he uses them in Sonic X Season 3, though. XD… I'm a nerd. I got all excited. Anyone else notice his hovershoes are a ripoff of Shadow's?

See you next chapter


End file.
